LAUDERDALE MAGISTRATE SEEKS NEW ASSIGNMENT

Patricia Kyle, the only U.S. magistrate assigned to the federal courthouse in Fort Lauderdale, is seeking a new assignment in Miami so she can be closer to home.

Kyle, 41, a former Broward County resident who now commutes from Coconut Grove, said she is not asking for reappointment to the Fort Lauderdale magistrate's post when her eight-year term expires Dec. 11.

Rather, Kyle said Wednesday, she will submit an application by week's end for either of two Miami openings. Two magistrates' terms are drawing to a close: Peter Nimkoff's and Herbert Shapiro's. Nimkoff is not seeking a new term; Shapiro is expected to reapply.

Kyle, who moved to Miami after her marriage to television reporter Art Carlson in 1983, said she wants to devote more time to her job and family and less time to commuting.

"It's a long drive," she said. "During the season, it can be an hour and 30 minutes one way. It's time away from my family, and I think my family deserves that time."

Her 5 1/2-month-old son, Cameron Carlson, was born prematurely and still has to be watched more carefully than a full-term child if he becomes ill, she said. He has had no major problems, she said, but recalled one long, worried drive to Miami when he fell ill.

"It's very hard . . . to drive from here to there when your heart is in your throat. That's a very tough hour," she said.

In addition, the judicial district is going to expand magistrates' duties to help relieve overworked judges, she said. A major new responsibility for magistrates may be trying civil cases, she said.

"That is going to necessitate us spending a lot more time on the job," she said. With a Miami appointment, sometimes "instead of being three hours on the road, I can spend that three hours on a case."

Kyle said she moved to Broward County in 1968 to join her mother and stepfather, Broward Circuit Judge Stephen Booher. Later, she attended the University of Miami Law School and, after graduating with honors, worked for the U.S. Attorney's Office in Miami.

"I never had a lot of roots in my life. We moved around a lot," she said. "I lived in Broward County longer than any place I've lived in my life."